I admit it

I admit it . . . I have been having troubles with my schedule this year.  I don't feel like I have a handle on it all.  Now maybe part of it is that I am not feeling myself this year.  I am T I R E D.  Really tired, lethargic and overwhelmed in a way I haven't been before.  I feel a mess and every day I look around my home and feel like I am not really getting any of the things I want to do accomplished. 

So I am going to try to get things under control.  I am trying to take back my life: 

• First thing I did was make a couple of appointments.  I have one tomorrow to see if we can do something about my tooth pain from where my beautiful boy kicked while I was changing him and cracked my tooth.  
• Secondly, I made appointments for him to get things moving further along with his autism.  
• Thirdly, I made an appointment for me. I have been checked a few times lately and my blood pressure is REALLY REALLY high and I have been feeling a little breathless and my heart has been racing a little, so with that and the tiredness, I am getting things checked out on that front too. 
• Fourthly, (is that a word?) I am taking back my house.  Little by little, I am attacking the jobs that have been overwhelming me, laundry, keeping the kitchen clean, the kids rooms, the messes the kids make ALL THE TIME.  
• Fifthly, (I am going with it now) I am getting out of the house once in a while.  Spending all my time in a house that seems to be my soul focus but is constantly yelling at me to do things I haven't gotten done yet, is exhausting.
• Lastly, I am trying to come up with a way of putting together a schedule for my days that will make it all seem to make a little more sense.  

Here are some resources I found when I was looking for schedules that may of use to any of you out there that are having any similar issues:

1. Why Routines are a Good Thing 
2. Homeschool Curriculum, Schedule and Checklist  
3. our daily schedule 
4. Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

And some more based on keeping the home while homeschooling:

1. Getting It All Done: When Homeschool and Housework Collide
2. Keeping a Clean House While Homeschooling
3. Housework and Homeschooling
4. House Cleaning Strategies for the Homeschool Family
5. How to Keep a Clean House and Homeschool Too

TOS Crew Review: Preschoolers and Peace E-book

I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to review Preschoolers and Peace: Homeschooling older kids with success while loving the little ones at your feet by Kendra Fletcher.  I have enjoyed Preschoolers and Peace for a long time and last year I was even given the chance to review Circle Time by Kendra Fletcher. I found many great strategies in the book which gave ideas on how to get my children interested and creating circle time that works, and so when I was asked to review Preschoolers and Peace: Homeschooling older kids with success while loving the little ones at your feet I was thrilled to agree.

Even though I have been homeschooling for quite a few years, I am always learning and modifying how we do things in our house. Reviewing  Preschoolers and Peace: Homeschooling older kids with success while loving the little ones at your feet ($2.99 in Kindle format) by Kendra Fletcher of Preschoolers and Peace was perfect timing as I have been struggling to find a balance when homeschooling multiple ages as I have  a 7th grade child, a grade 1 child and a child in kindergarten while attending to a 2 1/2 year old boy with autism. For me it has been a challenge to find the right schedules and routines that work for us, so this book was the perfect fit for me.

Kendra Fletcher is funny, real, and a real life homeschooling mom of 8 (6 of whom are still at home). Kendra and her husband, Fletch, run Homeschooling IRL, including a podcast on the Homeschool Radio Network. And make sure you check that out the Homeschooling IRL Facebook page.  These are real people, talking about real issues, not picture-perfect homeschool families.  You can find Kendra on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, and YouTube.


I received a PDF copy of the ebook Preschoolers and Peace:  Homeschooling Older Kids with Success While Loving the Little Ones at Your Feet.  This ebook contains information from some of the most popular posts on the Preschoolers and Peace blog and the author, Kendra Fletcher, describes this book as a “best of” the Preschoolers and Peace website put into ebook format..  Preschoolers and Peace:  Homeschooling Older Kids with Success While Loving the Little Ones at Your Feet sells for $2.99 and contains an immense amount of helpful knowledge in thirteen short, easy-to-read chapters.  You’ll find how to run a household and homeschool when you have young children within those chapters and the “Resources” section at the end of the book contains links to articles related to each chapter for further reading.

Here’s a peek at the Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Ch. 1 What a Homeschooling Mom Needs
• Ch. 2 Preparing Yourself to Homeschool Older Kids With Little Ones Underfoot
• Ch. 3 Planning Around Preschoolers
• Ch. 4 How Do I Keep Them Busy?
• Ch. 5 What Does a 2-Year-Old’s Day Look Like?
• Ch. 6 How Do I Get Any Preschooling Done?
• Ch. 7 How Not to Just Kill Time
• Ch. 8 Circle Time, Or How We Pull the Little Ones In
• Ch. 9 Preschool Boys
• Ch. 10 When All of Your Kiddos Are Preschoolers
• Ch. 11 Preschool Chores
• Ch. 12 Planning for Preschool
• Ch. 13 When Mama is Worn Out (or Pregnant)
• Meal Planning 101
• A Final Word of Encouragement
• Resources

Counting the resource pages, the ebook comes in at under 50 pages. However, the length is perfect for showcasing not only the issues which confront a homeschooling parent with preschoolers at home but also shares practical advice for getting control over what could be an out of control environment.  Many of the chapters are about establishing a routine with little ones and offer lots of ideas for ways to get the most out of their early years, making it helpful for any mom of young children, regardless of whether or not she has older ones as well.

Before I even read this book, there were several chapter that piqued my interest, specifically “How Do I Keep Them Busy?”; “When Mama is Worn Out (or Pregnant)” (since I am SO overwhelmed and tired lately); and “Preschool Chores″ (Right now, nobody, other than me, does any chores and a little help would be lovely!). But that being said, I was completely enthralled with the entire book. It’s a very quick read but it was full of wonderful with ideas.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I really like that Kendra shares sample routines that have worked for her family during different stages.  There are lists of ideas, many are things you are likely to already have in your home or can find inexpensively. I LOVED the long list of suggested activities and things for your little ones to do with ideas range from room time/crib time to creating certain days for your big toys.  The room time/crib time is just what is sounds like, learning to spend time in their room or bed, quietly entertaining themselves.  So for me, taking advantage of the times that Little Prince likes to spend in his room is a great hint!

Preschoolers and Peace: Homeschooling older kids with success while loving the little ones at your feet is an easy read.  Kendra's writing style is very easy to read and relate to.  I guess that's why I've been such a huge fan of her blog for so long!  I recommend this book to any homeschool mom with little ones (whether you have older ones as well or not!)

Preschoolers and Peace on Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PreschoolersandPeace
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KendraEFletcher
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kenj/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+KendraFletcher/posts
You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/user/preschoolersandpeace
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Where did it go?

Homeschool went better today, I got done with all the kids by about 2:30.  I am just having troubles feeling like I have a handle on the scheduling of everything this year.  I wouldn't change the fact that I homeschool, I really do like it, but I would like to request that someone please schedule me for a few extra hours in the day.  I am getting most things done, but I am super-tired.

On the upside, Princess Belle did really well today.  She seems to be getting back into the swing of things and isn't fighting me on the curriculum.  She even had a little fun with it today.

Princess Snifflefritz is doing amazing, I am really surprised by how well she has adapted to this new routine.

Princess Magpie is ahead in everything but her reading.  She knows letters and sounds, she just hasn't really been putting them together yet.  I am working on that with her now. 

In the meantime, I am trying to get everything done and feeling a little stretched thin with no time for anything extra right now.

Yeah, but it feels good . . . .

I am exhausted.  Moving is tiring and I have decided to spend 4 or 5 hours every day packing and preparing for the next month until the day we move.  I want to be sure to be completely prepared when we set out on the road.

So every day, by the time I am making supper, I am exhausted.  Tired to my bones with my eyes dropping shut, but it feels good to know that I can really hope to be ready when the day comes.

On a side note, Little Prince has returned to his old schedule where he wants to sleep in the mornings and is awake a LOT of the night.  So this is also making me a little more tired than usual, but hey, he is the youngest of four kids, I am used to being tired!

Thursday Thoughts

I made a change to our schedule today and I think it is going to work out well for us.  Princess Belle is an early riser.  She is always up much earlier than the little girls are.  So we decided to do her schoolwork before the girls get up.  Then we do school with the girls after they have their breakfast and we can have all our schoolwork done before lunchtime!!!  We did it today and it was great!  Princess Belle was much more alert and responsive and interactive that early in the morning.  It was a good start to the day and since we always have fun when we do kindergarten with the girls, that is a great way to end our school day.  Then I have lots of time in the rest of the day to do other things!

Here are some of the things we have done for Halloween during kindergarten:

Plans

I love having a fun way to start the day.  Today I made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.  I made enough to freeze some for later.  So I even managed to save some time for later. 

I can't wait for our move.  I have a lot of plans for ways to adjust our routine.  The house has a space that we can use for a playroom and I really do think that will make all the difference.  Princess Belle is even on board! 

Here are my thoughts:

• the bedroom will have only beds and stuffed toys. Every morning when we get up, we will make the beds and put the stuffed toys away.
• We will get a table and a high chair.  Then food will be eaten at that location only.
• All the rest of the toys will be in the playroom which will be tidied up every night before bed.
• The classroom will be controlled by me so that I can keep little fingers from walking away with much needed school stuff, like they do now. 
• We have a fenced in backyard and will spend time outside every day before we start our lessons and sometimes on good days we can spend time outside afterwards too. 
• I am going to put up a schedule for our days and for our meals and snacks.  Princess Belle likes the predictability of that and it helps me to make sure I get the right things on grocery day. 
• I am moving the kids picnic table outside and we will have snacks outside for fun in good weather days. 

Tackle it Tuesday - Cleaning

(click the pic above to get to other Tackles for this week)

My tackle for this week has no picture.  But it has really been working for me and I wanted to share it.  It is a change in my schedule.  When we were stranded in Yarmouth, in a hotel, I noticed the maid going around cleaning.  Now she didn't clean our room until we left but I thought about the fact that as a maid she takes some time every day to clean the rooms.  She has a set schedule and a list.  So I thought about our home and came up with a new way of scheduling how I am doing things the things I usually do.

In the mornings before the crowd gets up (usually Little Prince is up with me for this) I do the following:

• prepare supper, put in the slowcooker or prepare it to go in the oven
• prepare breakfast for the family (usually baking or oatmeal of some kind)
• Do one load of laundry.

In the evenings after the kids go to bed I do the following:

• gather all the toys that the kids have been playing with and put away
• gather all the dishes that have been left around from various snacks and wash them up and put them away
• thoroughly sweep and wash the floor
• clean the bathroom, washing the floor, sink and toilet every day and the tub every couple of days
• gather laundry to go to the laundry room
• gather garbage and recycling and put it out
• Do a basic clean in the kitchen.

Then once a week, I do the following:

• clean the girls room,
• clean the fridge and stove
• clean any other areas that need it

This schedule takes me some time in the morning when I am fresh and about an hour at the end of the day before I relax for the evening.  I have been doing this for a few days now and it is very manageable and it is so nice to wake up to nice clean, organized home every morning. I love having already cleaned it up so that I can put Little Prince on the floor to play while I do my morning chores, instead of having to clean first and then do that.  It is great that with the investment of about an hour in the morning and a hour ing the evening, I am able to keep on top of things all day long.

Gratitude Sunday

Sunday's heart felt tradition. A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful.

Here are some things I am grateful for this week:

1. Simple things that make my kids happy, like bunny buns and mouse buns.

2. Finding fun moments on our unplanned adventure in Yarmouth, like the excitement of seeing a statue of Ronald MacDonald.

(Princess Snifflefritz walked up and spoke to the statue, "Hi, I like your shoes." So sweet!)

3. Quiet moments alone in our hotel room, watching television. Pretending our bed was a spaceship taking a tour of the galaxy, pointing out stars and planets. Watching the girls play hide and seek, hiding over and over again in the same 2 spots and pretending not to be able to find each other. 

4. Little Prince loving his cozy little nest on the floor, even crawling over to the to take a nap whenever he was tired.  He was just too sweet.

5. The girls getting such a kick out of watching Little Prince explore our hotel room.  (Princess Magpie even took to crawling around on the floor beside him. LOL)

6. The hotel had a cozy little kitchen for our use which made making my girls happy very easy. 

7. Being inspired by our hotel stay and coming up with a new cleaning schedule that I have been following since I got back. 
8. Princess Magpie chatting with her baby brother, I love the bond they have.

8. Giggles on the couch. 

 9. So much forced time alone as a family reminding me once again little things I love about them about them; Princess Snifflefritz's gentle soul, Princess Magpie's tendency to worry and need reassurance, Princess Belle's care for her sisters, how much Princess Snifflefritz adores her. 

10. The kindness of people who don't know us, reminding me of people from home.

11.  How much Princess Magpie adores her brother.  How she asks me to stop him from growing up because she wants him to be small forever. 

12. Going to bed tired at the end of the day, knowing my house is clean, my children are happy and healthy and well fed and that I absolutely adore each and every one of them.

Schedule and Rhythm thoughts

I am not happy with how our schedule for this year looks and I am not happy with how the rhythm of our days feel.  The kids are happy, but to me it feels like I am not getting enough done. 

So I am taking the bull by the horns and really taking some time now to really think things through, do research, think about our life and homeschool and what needs to change.  I am taking notes of things that need to change and those that will be easier to change when we are not all tripping over each other in this little house.  (Btw, this house reminds of that old song, "Little Houses")

There are things that I would like to do and things that I am planning on doing.  I would like to plan our daily life better and that includes our meals, our cleaning, our homeschool and our schedule.  Having a plan will make me feel like I am getting closer to getting it all done.

Here are some of my thoughts as of right now, although they are still scattered and I am definitely open to suggestions and thoughts.  This may be a lot but I am writing it out partly as an exercise for me to figure it out.

I would like to be sure that in our daily schedule we do the following:

• Get to bed at a certain time every day
• Get up at a certain time every day (me before kids to get things done!)
• Get naps regulated (this is pretty good now)
• Get mealtimes regulated (plan them out, prepare in the morning and the night before)

For fun, I would love to have color days for the kids.  My kids would get a HUGE kick out of it and we could do some of the following things:

• Wear clothes (or just shirts) of that color
• Do crafts and artwork with that color
• Try to find the day's color in the house or outside on a walk
• Serve snacks in that color (smoothies in the colors of the day would be fun)
• Make play dough in that color

I saw this on a blog I read that they had the schedule below for colors and I think it would work for us too.  Including some of the extra cleaning I thought of off the top of my head, it would look like this:

Monday - red - good cleaning in bathroom
Tuesday - orange Clean kids rooms and Change Beds in all rooms
Wednesday - yellow - Wash the floors really well
Thursday - green - Clean our Bedroom
Friday - indigo blue - Clean Kitchen (fridge, stove, cupboard doors)
Saturday - purple
Sunday - white

So for my daily schedule has this tentative rhythm:

7:00 - I get up first, get dressed, get coffee, get breakfast, get supper going (slow cooker?), get bread going, do one load of laundry (in summer hang on line and get off line at lunch time)
8:30 - Get everyone up, tidy up the room, make the beds, dressed and fed
9:30 - Go for Walk
10:00 - Circle Time
10:30 - Little Girls Lessons (Princess Belle helps with littles and sits with us as she likes to participate in their day)
11:00 - Snack
11:15 - Princess Belle Main Lesson
12:30 - Lunch/Play
1:30 - Handwork/Art/Extra Lesson
AFTER THAT: Free time until dinner on some days we go for another walk or just hang out in the backyard.
7:00 - Bedtime Routine and then I sweep floor, do my evening tidy, clean play area

Flowering Baby, LLC TOS Crew Review

I was so excited to have a chance to review Flowering Baby LLC.  The program was designed for you to work with your children anywhere from 20-40 minutes per day.  And this really is perfect for my kids, because they don't long attention spans.   I received downloads for preschool curriculum from Flowering Baby to review. They offer 5 theme or monthly downloads for babies through age 5.   If your child is anywhere from birth to age five there is something for them. They offer programs for the following (There are samples of each set at the bottom of each description page!):

Birth to One
One to Two
Two to Three
Three to Four
Four to Five

The different sets range in price from $30 to $38 per set or you can buy the entire five year set for $132.  And as a really bonus to you guys, right now, you can get a 10% discount if you use the code “Blog10” when ordering off of the website, www.FloweringBaby.com.

 

For this post, I am reviewing the Three to Four year old Curriculum with my daughters Princess Snifflefritz (3 years) and Princess Magpie (4 years).  This curriculum is available for $38 from the Flowering Baby Store, you will also find information on that page about ordering it as a direct download. The Three to Four Curriculum is set up with the monthly curriculum guide, as well as a Themes Guide, that includes 24 short themes.

It is suggested that you start with whatever month you purchase the curriculum and then cycle through a full 12 months.  Since we received this in early January, we started at the beginning of the curriculum guide.

With my girls we had a to do a little adjusting because the level they were at with our previous homeschooling.  The girls really enjoyed Flowering Baby, but they simply weren’t ready for some of the activities such as learning to write.  I don't mind making simple adjustments as it is complicated to me sometimes having the two of them doing the curriculum at the same time as they are at different levels sometimes and they tend to get each other excited.  One thing that worked for us, is that my girls enjoy stories and they love to have the same one read to them over and over again.  So this part worked for them.

Overall, we enjoy the format, activities, and the booklist in Flowering Baby.  It’s a great resource for families.  This worked for us because the kids liked it and it was easy to fit into my very busy schedule as the mom of four kids.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Many on the Schoolhouse Review Crew had the privilege of using the Flowering Baby curriculum with their families.  Be sure the visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog to see how they used this product in their homes and what worked for them.

Zzzzzz . . . . I'm awake . . . I think

This is one of those days in a mom's life when she wakes up and knows this day is going to involve a LOT of caffeine.  I guess the fact that my day started at FOUR AM!!  was a good hint in that direction.  Little Prince decided that he was getting up at four and he insisted that mommy kept him company.  So we sat up and watched shows on the DVR, cuddling under a blanket in my armchair.  When he finally fell asleep little puffs of breath blowing softly on my neck, it was very sweet.  And I shot dirty looks at anyone who even hinted at making noise at that ungodly hour of 8:30 am.

So in my highly caffeinated state, I am making breakfast for my girls, nursing ANOTHER cup of coffee and trying to figure out what to make for supper.  It isn't excite but it is all I can manage when this many of my brain cells are fast asleep.  I don't mind though.  Because as tired as I am, I love how sweet he is.  As long as we cuddled, he was warm, and sweet and snuggly and as precious as you can imagine.  So if he has any more of these little escapades planned, I can take it.

But if he could schedule it for a hour or two later, I would be ever so grateful. Okay, I am off to go get some  more coffee now.

Sunday Seven

1. Little Prince is still working on his first tooth and it is making him more than a little crooked.  Having his bed in the living room is hard because it means that he gets disturbed in his sleep a lot. (My smilley little man has been grouchy lately and I am taking a few baby free moments to post)
2. Princess Magpie is STILL not potty trained.  I am trying not stress over it but she is FOUR years old and showing no signs of wanting to be done with this process anytime soon.  Two year old Princess Snifflefritz will definitely be trained before she is at this rate.
3. I find it funny that at this point in my cloth diapering, homeschooling, mommy-of-four life, if I want to do such a liittle thing as shower, I have to make a point to schedule it to make sure I can get time to get it done.  (with regards to homeschooling, I LOVE how much the girls like homeschool this year.  We even did some yesterday because Princess Belle wanted to.)
4. I would really like it if our guest would get his own place sometime soon.  It looks like he will be with us until at least October but he has been sleeping on our couch since April and not to be inhospitable I am missing my couch and I find it hard sometimes to feed an extra mouth.  (Not to mention how much extra coffee we go through) 
5. (oops have to go little Mr. Crankypants is crying yet again) Okay I am back, now where was I . . . mmm . . . I have no idea so I will start a new thought.  At this moment, Princess Snifflefritz is begging me to go to bed.  I do believe I am the only mom who is lucky enough to have kids who ask to go to bed.  They get up, play and have fun and eat and then at some point decide they are done and ask to go to bed.
6. I also think it is funny how the two little girls ALWAYS take off their clothes at night (unless I rig it so they can't).  It never fails that they come out with only a diaper on.  Then at some point Princess Snifflefritz will look down and suddenly realize she has no shirt and insist on having a shirt on.  Like some thief came in their room in the middle of the night and stole their clothes when they were sleeping.  
7. Since we moved into this place, I have been drying my clothes on the clothesline because the either the dryer doesn't work or the plug for the dryer is broke, we haven't figured out which yet.  So today when I was getting clothes in off the line before the rainfall warning we have comes to fruition, I saw a GIANT spider on the clothes.  You should have seen me, frantically waving a bag of plastic bottle for recycling at the clothes trying to knock the spider down.  I am sure it look pretty silly but this momma was FREAKED OUT

Homeschool planning

I have been planning our upcoming year for homeschooling.  I have a general idea of how our year will go with Princess Belle but what excites me most is that I am going to start Preschool with Princess Magpie.  I even plan on letting Princess Snifflefritz join in as much as she wants to since she is used to doing everything that Princess Magpie does.  Who knows when it is time to start Kindergarten with Princess Magpie, Princess Snifflefritz may be ready to do some of it too.  I LOVE that homeschooling is so flexible and that it allows me to not have to separate my two little joined at the hip princesses. 

I have never homeschooled preschool before so it is kind of fun to think about it and plan it.  I plan on having regular field trips as a part of out homeschool schedule as well.  I am looking forward to getting into it all.

Back at it

For about 6 months, I posted on another blog.  This a post that was copied from that blog.  I used different names for the family.  Just so you know the names were as follows:

Prince Charming - Wandering Aengus
Princess Belle - Lilly
Princess Magpie - Rose
Princess Snifflefritz - Lotus
Little Prince - Reed

I am getting back at my life again. It feels good to be back at it. I am making changes and reorganizing schedules and feeling good to be stretching that way again. We will be starting back at homeschool next week and our plan is to include unit studies again. Our first one was one on farming by request from Lilly. And the local homeschooling group is going on a field trip to Ross Farm in May, so that will be a great reinforcement of what we learn.

Baby stuff, homeschool and yummy food.

For about 6 months, I posted on another blog.  This a post that was copied from that blog.  I used different names for the family.  Just so you know the names were as follows:

Prince Charming - Wandering Aengus
Princess Belle - Lilly
Princess Magpie - Rose
Princess Snifflefritz - Lotus
Little Prince - Reed
I got more done on the nursery today. I was sorting through clothes and picking out the bags I was going to take to the hospital and puttering away at it all. I am feeling more confident that we will have it all done in time now. I did realize that I am going to have to shopping for some baby clothes, but truthfully picking out clothes for my new baby to wear is NOT a chore. LOL

I realized today that Lilly and I are doing REALLY REALLY well with our homeschool schedule for this year. I am going to have time to do unit studies and to take time off when I have the baby. I am so glad. The only thing we will have work on over the summer is math, but that is NOT our strong suit and it will be good to keep it fresh in her mind.

I made a kind of yummy breakfast bar this morning. It would be really really good with nuts in them too.

For supper I made a version of Pasta Puttanesca. I made it a little spicy and it was really really good. Even Lilly had two servings. MMmmmmm . . . yummy!

Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Bars
Ingredients:
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup sugar or sweetener of choice
1/2 cup almond milk
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 cup raisins
3 cups rolled or quick cooking oatmeal

Steps:
1. Mix all ingredients together and press into a 8 x 13 pan. Bake 15 – 18 minutes, or until done. Cut while warm but don’t move until cooled. These were a little soft in the middle and VERY TASTY!

Pasta Puttanesca
pasta, any long variety of your choice
1 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 – 2 tbsp capers
3/4 cup pitted brine-cured olives, chopped (use a combination of black and green)
12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, diced
2 large cans diced tomatoes
1 tbsp olive brine
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

Cook the pasta in plenty of rapidly simmering water until al dente, then drain.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and sauté until over low heat until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the olives, roasted peppers, tomatoes, capers, olives and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low, and add the brine and tomatoes.

Cover and simmer for at least fifteen minutes.

Combine the cooked pasta with the olive sauce in a large serving bowl.

Season with salt and pepper, and toss together gently. Serve at once.

Sunday Six

1. I finally got Princess Magpie to believe that there was a baby in my belly. It was too funny because then stuck out her belly and was convinced that there was baby in her belly too.
2. I had to take Princess Magpie out of Princess Snifflefritz's room. I put her in with Princess Belle. Princess Snifflefritz was keeping her up and night and it wasn't fair to her. Since I took her out of the room, Princess Magpie has slept through the night every single night. (Now if only I could convince Princess Snifflefritz to do the same!)
3. I changed living room today. I needed it to be better organized. When Princess Magpie got up from her nap and came out, she looked around, took it all in and said, "Mommy! Great job! You cleaned up!" In her little mind, the organization and the moved furniture were simply a result of the extra cleaning I must have done.
4. Princess Snifflefritz still has her schedule messed up. I am working on it, but it is exhausting to try to figure out a way to fix it.
5. The best thing about the change in the bedrooms is that Princess Magpie is sleeping so much better! And in the mornings, I can hear her and Princess Belle playing and giggling together before they come out for the day.
6. I went to a warehouse store the other day. I really like it a lot. I will definitely be going back.

Friday Five

1. Princess Magpie has this obsession with Princess Snifflefritz when she is in the crib. We CANNOT keep her out of there. I don't mind, but she is 2 1/2 years old and jumps in there and she is going to destroy it. I have to admit, I LOVE their giggles though.
2. We took the girls out to the library today. It was fun, they have a really nice library near here with a whole separate floor for the kids section.
3. I find it hard to stick to a schedule during the summer, but I am trying. The hard part is that during nice weather we are always on the go enjoying it and then things get left off of the schedule.
4. I am doing okay on the caffeine front. It is tough, but I am enjoying mint tea and green tea.
5. I am enjoying my new diet. There are so many yummy foods I have been trying. Prince Charming even teases me about how it doesn't look like deprivation to him. I lost 2 lbs this week.